No New Gas-Powered Cars? Hello Vehicle Mileage Tax
California officials have been toying with the idea of a Vehicle Mileage Traveled Tax (VMT) for some time but due to Governor Newsom’s executive order that only zero-emission cars must be sold starting in 2035 you can bet that the VMT will become a reality. If Californians switch to electric vehicles under the executive order, […]
Reading the Props: Prop 15—Who Cares?
Every two years, I read the full text of all statewide ballot propositions—because at least one Californian should. Next is Prop 15. Proposition 15 is nothing but hype. Its proponents say it will boost the schools and enact tax fairness and reform the previously untouchable Prop 13. Its opponents say it will threaten Prop 13, […]
California Flavor Ban has Online Loophole
Much has been written about the recently passed flavor ban on tobacco products, which was signed into law by Governor Newsom. California now joins a short list of progressive states, like Massachusetts and New York, which have taken aggressive action to ban flavored tobacco products from being sold. While this is certainly progress in reducing […]
How to Realign California Politics
The working class, which still constitutes a supermajority of California’s voters, is being destroyed by the policies enacted by the Democratic party. This is why political realignment in California can happen fast. In three fundamental areas, public education, land use, and energy infrastructure, California’s current policies are destroying lives, livelihoods, and land. And in all […]
You Too Can Attend a Global Forum on Direct Democracy on Tuesday
(Editor’ Note—Previously published, just a reminder.) For 12 years, I’ve been putting on Global Forums on Modern Direct Democracy, to look at initiative and referendum around the world, and how California stacks up. The forum has spun off a very handy global database on direct democracy and the International League of Democracy Cities. But to […]
Can One Individual Tell Us What We Can Drive?
An immediate reaction to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order that all new cars sold in California by 2035 must be zero-emission is how can one individual in a state of 40 million tell us what we all can drive? Isn’t this a republican form of government in which the people speak through their representatives or […]
Reading the Props 14 Stem Cell Bonds Reproduce Themselves
Every two years, I read the full text of all statewide ballot propositions—because at least one Californian should. OK, it’s possible that others may read the text, but I’m the only one stupid enough to admit to doing so publicly. I do this because Californians too often vote on their feeling about an issue on […]
Changing Views of Police and Race Relations
Californians’ perceptions of police treatment and race relations have shifted—dramatically, in some cases—in the wake of nationwide protests over police brutality and systemic racism. But these changes are far from uniform and reflect deep cleavages in public opinion today. The September PPIC Statewide Survey asked this question about the police in Californians’ local communities: Do […]
Why Can’t Sacramento’s Financial Reporting Match Private Sector Standards?
If you want current financial information on California’s state government, you won’t find it. The most recent consolidated annual financial report for California’s state agencies is for the fiscal year ended 6/30/2018. That’s over two years, or nine quarters ago. To put this in perspective, America’s publicly traded multinational corporations, with operations spread all over […]
The Rocky Road To Election Day Gets Rockier
We look at Donald Trump’s drive to a 6-3 Supreme Court that could give him the presidency in a contested election. Among the major Democrats working to derail his drive are California senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein. Inside Golden State Politics is here.